More Overwintering Monarch Butterflies Died in March 2016 Snowstorm Than First Estimated

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Over 40 percent of the monarch butterflies in two of Mexico's overwintering colonies
died in a storm that struck between March 7 and March 11, 2016. The team analyzing
the damage was led by Lincoln Brower, Ph.D., research professor of biology at Sweet
Briar College. Far more than the estimated 7 percent mortality rate.

The storm was a severe combination of rain and snow with strong winds and sub-freezing
temperatures. Several thousand firs in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve were
downed. Typically, the dense forest creates a favorable “microclimate” for the monarchs,
protecting them from extreme weather exposure. The prolonged severe storm destroyed
the microclimatic protection led to freezing in the colonies. The team hopes to carry out more effective methods of analyzing the damage because they are
concerned that the current methodology of reporting only total colony areas is underestimating
the true decline of monarchs overwintering in Mexico. If more accurate analyses can
be made, the more government action will be taken to protect the monarch butterflies.
Read more about this story at Entomology Today.

Published on: Sep 26, 2017

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